Gun supports date from the 16th Century. The earliest gun supports consisted of a single long pole with U-shaped support which held a long musket shot in the standing position. Recent prior art can be characterized into two types of gun supports: those primarily used to sight-in a firearm and those used while hunting to support the rifle while shooting at game. The supports that are used to sight-in the firearm are typically large, cumbersome, and difficult to maneuver, but are suitable for their function since mobility is not an issue when the shooter is sighting-in a firearm. These types of rifle supports are exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,930,933, 5,414,949, 5,666,757, and 5,628,135.
A hunter, however, requires a firearm support device that is portable, lightweight, and easy to maneuver and/or adjust. Of recent, the prior art has attempted to provide hunters with such supports, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,017,997 ("'997") and 4,967,497 ("'497"). U.S. Pat. No. '997 utilizes a bi-pod support structure where the end of the rifle barrel is clamped to the supporting block and the two legs of the bi-pod are telescopically adjustable in height. U.S. Pat. No. '497 utilizes a tri-pod support structure which can be adjusted for height, and where the third leg of the tri-pod can accommodate a seat. The '497 support collapses for carrying in a backpack strapped to the hunter, and the '997 support can be carried in the pocket of a garment.
While the prior art has attempted to provide hunters with portable supports, their discrete maneuverability is still a significant drawback to their use. A hunter typically does not know from which direction their prospective game will enter their view, thus, the hunter must have the ability to quickly and discretely change positions and locations within a relatively small zone. Accordingly, as the hunter changes his position and/or location, he must also stealthily alter the position of the stand, i.e., the stand should not be an impediment to the hunter's mobility. The prior art has not solved this problem. U.S. Pat. No. '497, for example, is quite large and is difficult to discretely move once pre-set at a specific height and position. U.S. Pat. No. '997 is more maneuverable than '497, but once the barrel is clamped in the support, the support becomes, in effect, part of the rifle, and when the hunter changes position, he has no choice but to readjust the telescopic bi-pods to the new terrain, or, if he chooses a position not suitable for the bi-pods, he must unscrew the clamping bolts to remove the stand from the rifle, all while his keen prey listen astutely.
Therefore, it is the object of the present invention to provide a light weight, portable rifle support that is collapsible and can be carried in the pocket of a garment. Additionally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a support that is unobtrusive should the hunter be required to change positions and/or locations after spotting his prey.
It is a further object of the present invention that the portable rifle support be easily reconfigured to be attachable to the side of boat for supporting a fishing rod.